[env-trinity] Article submission: Feinstein delays controversial drought legislation until next year

[Dan Bacher]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/20/1346309/-Feinstein-drops-controversial-water-bill-for-now

Feinstein delays controversial drought legislation until next year

by Dan Bacher

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced today that she has abandoned  
the secret negotiations for craft a controversial drought relief bill,  
but said she will try to pass the legislation next year.

The delay is a victory by a coalition of fishing groups,  
environmentalists, Indian Tribes and family farmers who organized an  
action alert campaign over the past week to defeat the bill. They said  
the bill would amount to a water bailout for corporate agribusiness  
interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that would  
devastate salmon and other fisheries and family farms.

“Over the past several weeks I have been working closely with members  
of the California delegation who expressed interest in reaching a  
bipartisan agreement on legislation to address California’s drought  
crisis without violating the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water  
Act or biological opinions," said Feinstein in a statement. “Although  
we have made progress, it has become clear that we will be unable to  
present an agreed-upon proposal before Congress adjourns this year."

Feinstein also claimed that, in spite of much evidence otherwise  
provided by opponents of the legislation, that this wasn't "some kind  
of secret process."

“I deeply believe the people want both parties to work together, and  
that is the only way we will be able to enact water legislation," said  
Feinstein. "Claims that this has been some kind of secret process are  
false. In order to come up with a bill that is ready for public  
comment, back-and-forth negotiations and consultations are often  
necessary, including extensive technical assistance from federal and  
state agencies. That process is ongoing and we have no agreed-upon  
bill at this time."

She also emphasized that there is a "real human fact" to the current  
drought, although she failed to mention the people most impacted by  
the drought - recreational and commercial fishing families, family  
farmers, and Indian Tribes that depend on salmon and other fish as  
part of their religion, culture and existence.

“It is important to remember there is a real human face to this  
crisis," Feinstein continued. Some communities can no longer deliver  
water to homes. Thousands of residential wells have run dry. And many  
families lack very basic necessities like water for showers and  
cooking."

Then Feinstein claimed that the bill wasn't "about corporate  
agriculture," failing to explain why heavy hitters from the water  
community, including Tom Birmingham of the Westlands Water District,  
Stewart Resnick of Paramount Farms, the Metropolitan Water District of  
Southern California and the Kern County Water Agency, were all at the  
table of the negotiations while fishermen, Tribes, family farmers,  
Northern California legislators and Northern California legislators  
were completely excluded.

“California is in a state of prolonged drought, and we must come  
together to find ways to provide the water necessary for life and well- 
being. This isn’t about corporate agriculture, this is about  
California," she said.

Feinstein then took aim at drought bill opponents, concluding,  
“It’s my hope that groups critical of this effort will strive to be  
productive rather than destructive. It’s clear that we need to get  
more water to our cities, businesses, farmers, households, fish and  
the Delta. And it’s equally important that we continue to protect  
wildlife and the environment. Only together will we stand a chance of  
agreeing on a bill that can help accomplish all of these goals.”

Bill opponents greeted Feinstein's announcement with relief - and  
vowed to stop similar legislation gutting fish protection and Delta  
water standards in the 2015 Congressional Session.

"We would like to thank the senator for listening to our constituents  
and we hope that she and Senator Boxer will ensure that all  
Californians are taken into account during the formulation of  
legislation in the next Congress," said Tom Stokely, water policy for  
the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN).

"This bill has been delayed," said Ronald Stork, Senator Policy  
Director of Friends of the River. "Feinstein said it will be  
reintroduced and go through the regular order in the new GOP led- 
Congress instead of being hatched in secret in the back rooms. That's  
a good thing, but it doesn't matter if California's two Senators are  
unwilling to stand up to the San Joaquin Valley Congressmen. Somebody  
has to show some courage."

"The dynamics haven't changed. Feinstein is more than willing to  
accede to the demands of the Southern San Joaquin Valley Congressmen.  
Their demands are pretty simple: disrespect the Wild and Scenic Rivers  
Act, Endangered Species Act (ESA)  and other peoples' water,"  
concluded Stork.

On November 18, representatives of California’s leading grassroots  
water conservation and environmental water organizations, fishing  
groups and the Winnemem Wintu and Karuk Tribes signed a letter  
strongly criticizing the legislation.

"We are disturbed by a resurgence of media reports and the potential  
movement of a  purported 'drought bill' for California," the letter  
stated. "As we understand it, the draft legislation now being  
finalized  attempts to reconcile provisions from S.2198 and HR.3964,"  
two bills designed to benefit corporate agribusiness at the expense of  
other water users."

The groups and Tribes expressed concern that there would be  
"destructive elements" in the reconciled bill that were in past  
versions of either or both bills. These include the following:

• Water transfers from the Sacramento Valley are expedited  
circumventing public processes  in federal environmental laws.

• Refuges are pushed to turn to groundwater instead of relying on  
what the Central Valley Improvement Act requires in the way of surface  
water deliveries.

• Most benefits are for desert agriculture in the southwestern San  
Joaquin Valley—not California as a whole—and especially not the  
area of origin where most of the water comes from: the Sacramento  
River Watershed.

• Permanent, devastating impacts on migratory bird and fish  
populations in California, Oregon, Washington State and Alaska.

Defenders of the public trust are gearing up for a big battle by  
Feinstein and the Republican-controlled Senate and House of  
Representative to pass  "drought relief" legislation that serves  
corporate interests at the expense of fish, wildlife and the people of  
California during the next Congressional Session.

To read the complete letter, go to this link on the Restore the Delta  
website: http://restorethedelta.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/EWC-Opposition-Letter-FINAL.pdf
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20141120/ebc56e48/attachment.html>